US largest private coal producer Murray Energy and certain of its subsidiaries have filed for bankruptcy. The company has signed a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with an ad hoc lender group holding more than 60% of the US$1.7bn in liabilities. The RSA will allow access to a US$350m debtor-in-possession financing facility (DIP facility) to finance operations during bankruptcy, subject to Bankruptcy Court approval. Murray Energy will also seek to be relieved of its obligations to retirees, their dependents and widows.
The group operates 17 active coal mines and 42 continuous mining units in Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Utah, and West Virginia. The company has an average production of 76 Mt/year, corresponding to nearly 20% of the total US coal production.
Murray Energy is the eighth coal company to file for bankruptcy in the United States since the beginning of 2019, despite the US administration move to cut environmental legislation and support the domestic coal sector, which is facing a fierce competition from renewable and gas-fired power generation.